In order to code
identified G/T students through the Public Education Information Management
System (PEIMS) and to have these students eligible to be included in a
district’s G/T weighted funding, students must be identified and receive
services before March 1 (Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH),
Section 8.2).

2. May a local district refuse a student
the opportunity to participate in the full G/T assessment process based on one
criterion (i.e., an aptitude test score)?

No. Data collected
from multiple sources for each area of giftedness served by
the district must be included in the assessment process for G/T services (TAC
§89.1(2) and State Plan 1.5.1C). In grades 1-12, qualitative and quantitative
data are required to be collected through three or more measures and used to
determine whether a student needs G/T services (State Plan 1.5.4C).

3. Should special provisions in
identification procedures such as testing accommodations be made available to ensure equitable access to G/T services for students with
special needs, i.e. English language learners or students with learning
disabilities or other handicaps?

Yes. If a student has
testing accommodations recorded on an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or 504
accommodations in place, then accommodations must be available when assessing
for gifted/talented services. Access to assessment and, if needed, G/T
services must be made available to all populations of the district (TAC
§89.1(3); State Plan 1.6C). Students must be assessed in languages they
understand or with nonverbal assessments (State Plan 1.5.2C).

4. How may a district ensure that students
with special needs are genuinely considered for services in G/T education?

Final determination of
students’ need for G/T services is made by a committee of at least three local
district or campus educators who have received training in the nature and needs
of G/T students and who have met and reviewed the individual student data (TAC
§89.1(4); State Plan 1.7C)

No, school districts are
not required to participate in the TPSP. Please note that the TPSP was
developed in alignment with the State Goal for Services for
Gifted/Talented Students and provides one option for schools to meet
the requirements of the Texas State Plan for the Education of
Gifted/Talented Students. TPSP is available for any Texas public school
district or charter school to improve the rigor and relevance of its advanced
academic instruction in Kindergarten to grade 12. Please visit the TPSP website for more information.

6. May a district offer G/T services
exclusively at the “zero-hour” period or after school?

No. A school district is
required to offer in-school learning opportunities relevant to the student’s
area of strength throughout the entire school year (TAC §89.3(3) and State Plan
2.1C). A district may offer supplemental services outside of
the regular school day.

7. Who is responsible for ensuring that a
district is in compliance with state mandates for G/T services?

The local board of
trustees has primary responsibility for ensuring the district is in compliance
with all applicable requirements of state education programs (TEC §7.028(b) and
TAC §89.5).

Open-enrollment charter
schools are not required to serve G/T students unless G/T services are included
in their charter (TEC §12.059). Private schools are not under the authority of
the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and do not receive (G/T weighted) state
funding so they are not bound by state law and rule.

9. Must every identified G/T student
participate in G/T services?

No. Parents must have
the opportunity to deny services. However, students identified as G/T through
PEIMS must be served through a district’s defined G/T services (TEC §29.122;
TAC §89.1(3) and (5); State Plan 1.4C). School districts are required to
provide an array of learning opportunities for G/T students in Kindergarten to
grade 12 and shall inform parents of the opportunities (TAC §89.3).

10. May a district offer services in G/T
through Advanced Placement (AP®), Pre-AP®, International
Baccalaureate (IB), or dual credit classes?

Yes. Local
districts have the flexibility to determine through which classes G/T students
are served. Districts are required to provide an array of learning
opportunities for G/T students in Kindergarten to grade 12 and shall inform
parents of the opportunities. Please note that G/T students in AP, Pre-AP, IB, or dual credit courses must still receive differentiated instruction from a
G/T-trained teacher (TAC §89.3).

11. Must all G/T students
enroll in AP, Pre-AP, IB, or dual credit classes if districts offer G/T
services exclusively through these classes?

While local districts
have the flexibility to determine through which classes G/T students are
served, districts are required by statute to serve all identified
G/T students. Please note that districts are required to provide an array of
learning opportunities for G/T students in Kindergarten to grade 12 (TAC
§89.3).

12. May G/T students be served in the regular
classroom, or are districts required to offer special classes? Is there a
minimum time requirement for G/T services?

G/T students may be
served in the regular classroom; however if this is the instructional design
that is used to deliver services, the regular classroom teacher must have
the
30- hour foundational G/T training as delineated in TAC §89.2(1) and an annual
update of six hours of professional development in G/T education (TAC
§89.2(2)). Campuses and districts must ensure G/T students have opportunities
to work together as a group, work with other students, and work independently
during the school day throughout the entire school year as a direct result of
G/T service options (TAC §89.3(1) and (3); State Plan 2.2C). Please note that a
group is defined as a minimum of three students. In addition, if G/T students
are provided services in the regular classroom, students must be assured an
array of learning opportunities that are commensurate with their abilities and
that emphasize content in the four foundation curricular areas (TAC §89.3(1)
and (3); State Plan 2.1C).

There is no minimum time
requirement in either law or rule.

13. When is it appropriate to exit or
furlough an identified G/T student?

Policies regarding
exiting or furloughing identified G/T students are made at the local level.
Provisions regarding furloughs and exiting of students from program services
are required to be included in written policies that are approved by the local
board of trustees and disseminated to parents (TAC §89.1(5); State Plan 1.2C).

Section 3: Curriculum and Instruction

14. What is meant by “a continuum of
learning”?

A continuum of learning
experiences refers to articulated intellectual, artistic, creative, and/or
leadership activities and opportunities that build upon one another each year a
student is in school. Instruction must be seamless and vertically aligned in
order to achieve the state goal of developing advanced-level products and
performances (State Plan 3.2C and State Plan Glossary).

15. What is meant by “appropriately
challenging learning experiences”?

An array of learning
experiences is a menu of challenging activities or opportunities that fit the
unique interests and abilities of advanced-level students (State Plan
Glossary). The State Plan requires an array of appropriately challenging
learning experiences in each of the four foundation curricular areas be provided
for G/T students in Kindergarten to grade12 and parents be informed of the
opportunities (TAC §89.3 and State Plan 3.1C).

16. Must a district provide services in
each of the four foundation curricular areas?

Yes. Opportunities that
are commensurate with G/T students’ abilities and that emphasize content in the
four foundation curricular areas must be provided for G/T students in
Kindergarten to grade 12 (State Plan 3.1C). Students should be served based on
individual strengths and should not be required to participate in all four
foundation curricular areas (State Plan 2.1C).

17. If districts serve high school G/T
students through Pre-AP, AP,or IB courses and students who
are not identified G/T are in the class, must the teacher differentiate the
curriculum for the G/T students?

Yes. The State Plan
requires that districts provide G/T students an array of learning opportunities
that are commensurate with their abilities (State Plan 2.1C). Districts meet
the needs of G/T students by modifying the depth, complexity, and pacing of the
curriculum and instruction ordinarily provided.

Section 4: Professional Development

18. Who is required to have professional
development in G/T education?

Teachers who provide
instruction and services that are a part of the district’s defined G/T services
are required to receive a minimum of 30 clock hours of professional
development prior to their assignment to provide G/T services
and instruction. This
30-hour training must include nature and needs of G/T students, identification
and assessment of G/T students’ needs, and curriculum and instruction for G/T
students. Teachers without required training must complete the 30-hour training
within one semester of assignment to provide G/T services and instruction.
Teachers must also receive a minimum of six hours annually of professional
development in G/T education (TAC §89.2(1), (2) and (3); State Plan 4.1.1.C,
4.1.2.C and 4.2C).

Administrators and
counselors who have authority for service decisions for G/T students are
required to receive six hours of professional development that includes nature
and needs of G/T students and service options for G/T students (TAC §89.2(4);
State Plan 4.3C). Any campus or district-level administrator (including the
superintendent) or counselor who has authority to make scheduling, hiring, or program decisions should have the six hours of training (TAC §89.2(4);
State Plan 4.3C).

19. If a teacher completed the
30-hour foundational G/T training several years ago and has not continued with
the 6-hour annual G/T professional development updates, must he/she retake the
30-hour training to be considered a G/T trained teacher in Texas?

There is no such
requirement in law or rule; however local district policies may include this
requirement.

20. Must all teachers complete the
annual six-hour G/T professional development update?

All teachers who provide
instruction and services that are a part of the district’s defined
gifted/talented services program for G/T students must receive a minimum of six
hours annually of professional development in G/T education that is related to
state teacher education standards(TAC §89.2(3); TAC §233.1; State Plan 4.2C).

21. Must administrators/counselors
participate in a six-hour G/T professional development update each year?

There is no such
requirement for districts to be in compliance with rule; however, local
district policies may include this requirement. Exemplary programs require an
annual six-hour G/T update for administrators/counselors as indicated in the
State Plan 4.3E.

22. What training should be offered
to teachers in the required six-hour annual G/T professional development
update?

The decision not to
mandate what should be offered as six-hour update training was deliberate. The
annual update should be based on individual teacher needs related to the
objectives of the district’s G/T program services. The intent of the six-hour
update is to provide teachers of G/T students with training that will enable
the teacher to differentiate and adjust the depth, complexity, and pacing of
lessons to meet the needs of G/T students. The teacher and his/her supervisor
may collaboratively make this decision based on the needs identified in campus
and district improvement plans (TAC §89.2(3); State Plan 3.4C).

23. Is a teacher who has
completed the 30-hour foundational G/T training considered G/T certified in
Texas?

No. G/T
certified refers to a teacher who has obtained the G/T Supplemental
Certificate available through the State Board of Educator Certification after
successfully challenging the G/T TExES. This certificate alone, however, does
not qualify a teacher to teach gifted students in Texas. It must be accompanied
by the 30-hour foundational G/T training required by TAC §89.2. A teacher with
the appropriate 30-hour training, but without the supplemental certificate, is
considered G/T trained (TAC §89.2 and State Plan 4.1.1C).

If Pre-AP/AP or IBclasses
serve as the mode of delivery for services to G/T students, teachers must have
the required 30-hour foundational G/T training. Substitutions from the College
Board five-day summer institute or IBO training may be made for the curriculum
and instruction component of the 30-hour foundational G/T training, but the
teacher would still require training in the nature and needs of G/T students
and identification and assessment of G/T students’ needs.

Section 5: Family and Community
Involvement

25. Must districts/campuses offer a parent
awareness session each year?

For a district to be in
compliance with the State Plan, no annual parent meeting is required. Please
note that school districts are required to provide certain information to
parents. This includes informing parents of the array of learning opportunities
available for G/T students in Kindergarten to grade 12 (State Plan 5.2C) and
disseminating written policies on student identification to parents (State Plan
5.1C). For a district to be recommended by this indicator, orientation and
periodic updates are provided for parents of students identified for and
provided G/T services (State Plan 5.2.1R).

26. The law says that the State Plan
shall serve as the basis for district accountability in providing services to
G/T students. How and when will districts be held accountable for the
indicators in the State Plan?

The board of trustees of
a school district or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school
has primary responsibility for ensuring that the district or school complies
with all applicable requirements of state educational programs (TEC §7.028).
Provisions to improve services to G/T students must be included in district and
campus improvement plans (State Plan 3.4C). The effectiveness of G/T services
must be evaluated annually, and the data used to modify and update district and
campus improvement plans. Parents must be included in the evaluation process
(State Plan 5.3C). The method of evaluation is a local district decision.

27. Must districts evaluate their G/T
program each year?

Yes. The effectiveness
of G/T services must be evaluated annually and the data used to modify and
update district and campus improvement plans. Parents must be included in the
evaluation process (State Plan 5.3C). Districts shall evaluate services
annually through a locally developed process that meets the requirements of law
and rule.